Frequently Asked Questions

2018 Bat Rules and the date of Championship Sunday are currently under review by the League Board. Decisions are expected to be made and communicated by October 1.

Regular Season Questions

Coaches

Q: Why can’t I schedule games the Monday (7/17/17) or Tuesday (7/18/17) before the playoffs begin on Wednesday?

A: It has been league policy for the past five years not to allow any regular season games to be scheduled the week of the playoffs, specifically the Monday and Tuesday before the playoffs begin on Wednesday. Here’s why: If a regular season game is scheduled for that Tuesday then there is no flexibility to accommodate weather-related or other technical delays. In other words, if it rains, the game must be cancelled because playoffs have to start on Wednesday, and for some divisions, playoffs actually may begin on Tuesday. It’s league policy to allow games to be scheduled on the Monday before playoffs IF games are delayed during the final weekend of the regular season. In the first year of the League, we allowed games to be scheduled the day before the playoffs and rains created a major disaster. Teams ended up having to play doubleheaders during the playoffs and travel to separate towns on the same day to deal with home-field advantage.

During the final weeks of the season, if there’s no open date, it’s better to schedule a doubleheader now when it’s easier to take care of young pitching arms than to bunch everything up at the end of the year when playoff-fever has taken over, and there’s a tendency to schedule too much work for pitchers.

This league policy has been articulated over the last several year’s and reinforced again at this year’s manager’s meeting.

Q: I have several players who are injured and will be out for the year. How do I add players to my roster?

A: Please see the Roster Rules on Page 2 of the Rule Book. If you believe that you will have fewer than nine registered players available for a game, players may be played from the community’s next lower age team. These players may not pitch or catch and must bat at the end of the order. No player may be called upon for a second time until the remaining players on that team have been invited to play up.

Q: When should the last regular-season game be completed and when does the tournament begin?

A: No games should be scheduled after July 16. Playoffs may start as early as Tuesday, July 18 or Wednesday, July 19, depending on the division.

Q: Did the LSFBL Bat Rules change for the 2017 Season?

A: YES for 8U only (NO other changes have been made). In 8U the League now allows a drop 13 bat. Please refer to the Rule Book, Page 1, for the specific rules. ALSO NOTE that the Bat Rules will be changing effective January 1, 2018. At that time ALL bats will be required to carry the USA Baseball stamp, or will NOT be usable in the LSFBL.

Q: Are pitching limits now measured by pitch count (a change from the previous benchmark of outs)?

A: YES. The League has changed to pitch count limits and specific number of days rest required for various pitch counts. Please refer to the Rule Book, page 11.

Q: We played one half inning before the rain came (one pitch was delivered in the bottom of first). My question is does the makeup game resume where the game ended or does it start over? Score was 4-0 after one half inning.

A: This circumstance is addressed in the Rule Book, pages 4 and 5. The game is considered a suspended game to be resumed from the point of the curtailment.

Q: When are the U8 Playoffs and Championships?

A: The playoffs for U8s are expected to start on either Tuesday, July 18 or Wednesday, July 19. The championship is expected to be held Sunday, July 23, at North Park in Lincolnshire (same as last year).

Community Administration

Q: When are team fees due and how much per team?

A: Team fees must be paid by May 7, 2017. Fee is $425/team. Any teams who have not paid by the due date will not participate in the playoffs. Each community should please write a check to cover all your teams and submit to:

John Chandler
LSFBL Treasurer
770 Linden Ave.
Lake Forest, IL 60045

End of Season and Playoff Questions

Q: Where is my game supposed to be played? It’s not on the brackets.

A: The coach of the home team should contact the coach of the visiting team with field information as quickly as possible.

Q: Are the brackets final?

A: Yes, at some point we have to end the regular season and move on to the playoffs. The posted brackets are final.

Q. What are the rules concerning playoff games interrupted by weather or other circumstance?

A. ALL playoff games will be played to conclusion – excepting games where the Mercy Rules come into play.

Q: Why did my team receive a forfeit when it was the other coach’s fault?

A: This is clearly the most contentious topic we’ve had to deal with and here’s the official league policy:

We want you to play your games. We don’t want any forfeits. In fact, we have gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid issuing forfeits. Last-minute cancelations, umpires not showing up, fields mysteriously deemed unplayable have all been allowed to stand in hopes teams would play with the understanding that changing game days and times create incredible inconveniences to parents, players and coaches but playing is better than not playing.

In short, if you played your games and reported the results on time, your season probably went smoothly.

For the teams that didn’t conclude their schedule by July 16, we allotted 1 – 2 additional days to play your games. And we put in place a trigger for teams that wanted to play but didn’t have a willing opponent.

Whether you were away or home, if you wanted to play and didn’t, you received a win and your opponent a forfeit. If you couldn’t play for whatever reason Monday or Tuesday, you may have taken a forfeit.

Q: But what if there were extenuating circumstances for not rescheduling on Monday or Tuesday?

A: Over the past five years, we’ve received requests to review over 100 scenarios concerning games not played during the regular season. In order to reach conclusions for those scenarios and establish the playoff brackets, the Rules Committee had to make judgement calls based upon the information they had at the time. The Rules Committee consists of two veterans of travel baseball (over 30 years of combined experience), and an IHSA umpire. They have been empowered by the LSFBL board — made up of representatives from all communities — to make final judgements on matters like this. If you sent an email in a timely manner, the committee reviewed your situation and ruled.